The Incredible “Black Panther!” The Story Behind The Amazing, “Natural” Hair!

The early reviews are superlative, and after seeing so many films coming-out over the past few years, we are LOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGG overdue for an African-American Superhero….

And as it turns out, an “all natural” one at that! Let me explain:

“Black Panther” Is Getting Amazing Reviews!

The first reviews have been incredible for this new Super hero movie.

First, here’s the plot of the film:

Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” follows T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king—and Black Panther—is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk.

Here is the trailer:

Wow! It’s being called one of the best Superhero films ever made, and that trailer looks it!

Among all of the interesting stories about the movie, I found one all about the look of the character’s HAIR!

Here is a short snippet from the great story at “The Cut”:

Ahead of the movie’s premiere, the Cut talked to the head of Black Panther’s hair department, Camille Friend. The movie’s hair wizard explained the month-long process of creating Angela Bassett’s wig, why Michael B. Jordan needed to wear extensions, and what it was like working on a film that celebrated natural black hair.

“There’s no press and comb in this movie. No relaxers, no nothing! That was one of the things that I really was firm about. I requested that people come with their natural hair. People were like, ‘Are you sure?’ and I was like, ‘Yes, I am sure! We have a qualified staff of hair people who are phenomenal and who are well-versed in natural hair.’”

As you can see, here are Lupita Nyong’o and Letitia Wright in their “natural” state:

And what about the amazing hair on Angela Bassett? Let’s take a look before we hear the story behind it:

Well, according to the article, Camille Friend describes it this way:

“That was the pièce de résistance wig. It was a wig we created. All of the dreads were handmade, and they were blended with four different colors. Once those were made — there were about 110 pieces of individual dreads — we sent those to the wigmaker [Natascha Ladek], and the wigmaker inserted them in the wig. That whole process took about a month.”

I plan to keep an eye on all of the “natural” look, and bravo to them for that decision!

Ashley Weatherford wrote this terrific article, which can be found at “The Cut” – check it out here:

A quick shoutout as well to David Poland, who posted the link to this terrific article on his website, “Movie City News.” It’s my “go to” place for links to terrific stories, as well as his own original features, reviews and box office updates…a great website, check it out here!

While we are overdue for a new type of movie Super hero, let’s not forget that, in the 70’s, there were two African-American women who were kicking ass as well!

Pam Grier was “Foxy Brown”, and her action films are “blaxploitation” classics…this genre of film included such male stars as Richard Roundtree as “Shaft”, and Ron O’Neal as “Superfly.” But let’s not forget the other female action star of that genre:

Tamara Dobson starred as “Cleopatra Jones”, which the movie posters described as “6’2″ Of Dynamite!”

These films are terrific, and available on DVD, blu-ray or on demand, so make it a retro night at home after seeing “Black Panther” on the big screen! See more about these two “super women” here:

Thanks for the comment! The reviews have been great, and what I like about those reviews is they articulate WHY the film is so good – it doesn’t try to mimic other superhero films, but gives this a distinctly unique POV, which we need!

John, I think I have long-ago grown out of ‘superhero’ films. Despite Freeman, Serkis, and hearing the snippet of ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ on the trailer, this looks like a lot of CGI nonsense to this old man! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.

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I work in entertainment - and I have been lucky enough to interview some really talented Artists - that guides my posts: interesting and provocative movies, music, social media and of course, food, since I believe strongly in the maxim, "everyone eats!"